Level Instructional Focus Texts 
A Concepts of print Oral Language 
Patterned Text 1 to 1 correspondence 
Check the pictures High frequency words 
Support predictions Main idea 
(usually does not know high frequency words out of context at Level A) 
Letter books 
Repetitive pattern books 
Syntactic pattern books 
B Concepts of print Oral Language 
Patterned Text 1 to 1 correspondence 
Check the pictures High frequency words 
Retelling 
Cross-checking 1st sound/word with pictures 
Letter books 
Repetitive pattern books 
Syntactic pattern books 
C 1 to 1 correspondence (eyes only) Attends to beginning/ending sounds 
High Frequency words Blends cv/vc/cvc/ccvc words 
Visual phrasing (2-5 words) Reads text with little or no repetition 
Monitors by known word 
Syntactic pattern books 
Decodable/Phonics books 
Sight word books 
D Phonics Readers 
Makes simple attempts at unknown words (rereading) 
Blends consonant blends, digraphs, dipthongs, rimes, and vowel teams 
Reads dialogue Silent e, cvc-e 
Reads punctuation 
Syntactic pattern books 
Decodable/Phonics books 
Sight word books 
E!F 
High frequency words (with endings) 
Consistent self-correction 
Monitors using more than one cueing system (meaning, structure, visual) 
Increased attention to punctuation 
Attends to characters, setting, problem, events, resolution 
Alternate vowel sound (long/short) 
Fluency beginning 
Contradictions 
Natural phrasing 
Attends to comprehension 
Informational texts 
Narrative texts 
Sight word books 
G!H 
Uses familiar chunks to solve unknown, multi-syllabic words 
Punctuation that wraps around with the return sweep 
Appropriate expression 
Unprompted, sequential retelling 
Compound words 
Singular/plural words 
Possessives 
Fluency improved 
Attends to comprehension 
Narrative texts 
Informational text 
I!J 
Flexibility in attempting sounds for tricky letters or spelling patterns 
Soft/Hard G and soft/hard C sounds 
More complex spelling patterns (ought, ment, tion, ture) 
Contextually determines meaning of unknown words 
Synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms 
Begins using text structure to support comprehension 
Narrative texts 
Informational text 
Picture books 
Literacy books 
Fluency texts 
K!M 
Syllabication patterns 
Punctuation that carries over to next page 
Complex dialogue with speaker identified or not 
Refers to text for support 
Wide variety of text structures 
Uses comprehension strategies more fully 
Narrative texts 
Informational text 
Picture books 
Literacy books 
Fluency texts 
N+ 
Increases vocabulary through reading 
Written dialect or character accents 
Characterizations 
Sophisticated plot development and text structure 
Assess to prior knowledge for social content, time period, historical relevance 
Narrative texts 
Informational text 
Picture books 
Literacy books 
Fluency texts 


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